Vixen Optics

About Vixen Optics
With a name taken from one of Santa's Raindeers, Vixen Optics was established in 1949 in Japan with the mantra of bringing happiness to all their users.

Initially, the companies main focus was firmly fixed on astronomy and they produced only telescopes and mounts, but Vixen has since expanded into many other areas and so as well as telescopes, they now manufacture a wide range of spotting scopes, microscopes, binoculars, monoculars, opera glasses, related accessories, and mounts.

Vixen Binoculars

Astronomy Binoculars
As you would expect from a company that started life making telescopes, Vixen Optics manufacture a wide selection of binoculars for astronomy and are very well respected in this area in particular.

Probably best known for their very high quality binocular telescopes, they also have a small offering of excellent giant binoculars designed to be used with a tripod, with the range of Vixen ARK binoculars being particularly good binoculars for stargazing.

As well as this, Vixen Optics also produce a wide variety of smaller hand held astronomical binoculars to cater for most budgets. Most of them are of the more traditional porro prism design and in configurations like the 7x50, 10x50, 12x50 and even 16x50 that are popular with astronomers. Although with the higher magnifications, a tripod is most certainly reccomended.

The company also make a zoom binocular and the somewhat unique Vixen 2.1x42 Constellation binocular. With it's super wide field of view and large exit-pipil, it allows incredible views of constillations, star clusters and the moon.

Sport OpticsAs well as astro bins, Vixen has taken their obvious optics expertise and have now expanded into the terrestrial sport optics sector and have both roof and porro prism instruments to suit most budgets and popular uses including general use, birding, wildlife observation, hunting, and travel.

Top of the range is the Vixen ARTES-J DCF ED Binoculars that feature an open bridge roof prism design. A popular series is the Vixen Atrek II DCF Binoculars that are available in standard 42mm, mid-sized 32mm, and compact 25mm configurations.

They also make a binocular with image stabilization, a good selection of opera glasses, monoculars and not forgetting the Vixen Atera Image Stabilized Zoom monocular.

Vixen BT Binocular Telescopes

This series of super high quality Japanese made binocular telescopes are probably what Vixen Optics are best known for.

As with telescopes and higher specification spotting scopes, the eyepieces are changeable and you can choose the magnification that best suits your needs.

In terms of their body and the objective lenses in particular, Vixen BT Astronomical Binoculars are available in a range of different sizes, from the large aperture 70mm options to the giant 81mm ones, to the supergiant 126mm lenses that are able to collect 300x more light than the naked eye!

This series includes the Vixen BT126SS-A, Vixen BT81-A, Vixen BT81S and the Vixen BT ED70S-A Binocular Telescope that contains ED glass elements to reduce color fringing to the lowest levels possible, which when viewing distant stars and galaxies under high magnifications in the night sky is super important.

Price & Where to Buy

Starting at around $900 (£925), going all the way up to $5000, the price of these super high-quality astro binoculars varies considerably depending on which model you choose and what accessories (like tripods) and eyepieces they come with:

Vixen SG 2.1x42 Super Wide Binoculars

Sometimes called the Vixen Constellation binocular, the super wide field of view that you are presented with when looking through these unique binoculars means that you are able to observe full constellations and clusters without having to pan the view about.

So whilst increasing the magnification by only 2.1x may seem a little low, it does allow you to observe stars that you cannot normally see with the naked eye, but at the same time, you are still able to enjoy the beauty of observing the entire constellation.

So whilst I would not recommend this as an alternative to your telescope or high powered astronomy binoculars, these Vixen SG 2.1x42 Widefield Binoculars really do make a great addition and another way for you to enjoy the sky at night.

Its small size and low weight make it perfect for taking out on camping trips and can really help beginner astronomers navigate the night sky without getting disorientated.

I also found that it really added to my enjoyment of the moon as the slightly higher detail lets you more easily observe and recognize the craters and other features without the need of a tripod.

Vixen Artes J DCF ED Binoculars

One of Vixen Optics most recent introductions is the series of Artes J DCF ED binoculars, which builds on their original Artes binoculars with a number of improvements, including the addition of ED glass lenses that potentially offer an improved image resolution with the reduction of color fringing.

Available in the two most popular configurations (8x42 &10x42) , I guess you would call the Vixen Artes J DCF ED binoculars the companies flagship series amongs their terrestrial range of sports optics.

Made in Japan and utilizing BaK4 glass roof prisms with an open bridge body design, other notable features include a fully multi-coated optical pathway, and dielectric coatings on the prisim which will both boost light transmission.

Models & Specifications

Vixen Artes J DCF ED Binoculars come in two different configurations:

Model

FOV

Eye Relief

Min Focus

Weight

Dim (in)

8x42

366ft

19mm

9.8ft

24oz

5.7x5.1x2"

10x42

315t

17mm

9.8ft

24oz

5.7x5.1x2"

Price & Where to Buy

Depending on the model, these have a list price of $630 / $600, but currently retail for around $429 / €400 / £420:

Vixen Ascot Binoculars

With their traditional Porro prism design, the series of Vixen Ascot binoculars have a definite leaning towards stargazing and the night sky. However, as there is a large range of size and magnification combinations available as well as an easy to reach and fast to adjust centrally located focus wheel many of them are also perfectly suitable in a wide range of land-based activities.

Aimed at the enthusiast, these mid-range Vixen binoculars come with features like a fully water and fog proof chassis, fully multi-coated optics, right-eye diopter adjuster and twist-up eyecups.

In general and depending on the exact configuration in question, the specifications like their field of view, close focus distance and eye-relief are generally good, all of which further add to their wide range of uses.

Models & Specifications

Vixen Ascot binoculars are available in a wide range of configurations, below are a few of the ones that I have been able to find details on:

Model

FOV

Eye Relief

Min Focus

Weight

Dim (cm)

8x32 CFW

429ft

15mm

20ft

29oz

11.5x17.7x11.3

8x42 CFW

429ft

18mm

23ft

30.6oz

15x18.1x13.3

7x50 CFW

336t

17mm

33ft

36oz

18.8x17

10x50 CFW

339ft

18mm

26ft

37oz

18.8x17

10x50 Super Wide

444ft

7mm

18.7

32oz

8-30x50 Zoom

219 - 105m

18mm

64ft

37oz

Price & Where to Buy

Depending on the model and where you shop, you can pick up a Vixen Ascot binocular from approximately $120 / €250 / £160:

Vixen Atrek II Binoculars

Building on their successful Atrek series, Vixen Optics have made a number of improvements to their new Atrek II binoculars which can now certainly be described as high quality, mid-priced binoculars.

One of the biggest improvement is the inclusion of a field flattener lens element within each eyepiece. These correct field aberrations that causes the edges of the view to be out of focus when the center of the view is in focus and thus the result is a sharper, higher definition image across the entire field of view.

Compared to the original Atrek series, the corresponding models also tend to have a much wider field of view, although in most cases this has also meant a slight reduction in eye relief and a slightly longer minimum focus distance. Although for the most part, this is still excellent.

Other highlights include a fully multi-coated optical pathway, BaK-4 roof prisms, a 100% water and fogproof chassis with rubber armor exterior, twist-up eyecups, a large centrally located focus wheel, and a right eye diopter adjuster.

Models & Specifications

As far as I have been able to ascertain, Vixen Atrek binoculars are currently available in compact 25mm, mid-sized 32mm and full-sized 42mm options:

Model

FOV

Eye Relief

Min Focus

Weight

Dim (cm)

8x25 Atrek II DCF

393ft

15mm

1.2m

12.7oz

10.9x11.9x4.3cm

10x25 Atrek II DCF

314ft

15mm

1.2m

12.7oz

10.9x11.9x4.3cm

8x32 Atrek II DCF

383ft

15mm

1.2m

13.7oz

10.9x11.9x4.3cm

10x32 Atrek II DCF

314ft

15mm

1.2m

13.7oz

10.9x11.9x4.3cm

8x42 Atrek II DCF

393ft

19mm

1.3m

14oz

10.9x11.9x4.3cm

10x42 Atrek II DCF

324ft

16mm

1.3m

14oz

10.9x11.9x4.3cm

Price & Where to Buy

Vixen Atrek II binoculars are available from around from $200 / €210 / £190: